


To Barter For The Moon

by P1rateW3nch



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, I've never written angst or hurt/comfort before, Some angst, kinda hurt/comfort, mostly comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-22
Updated: 2018-03-22
Packaged: 2019-04-06 08:36:23
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14053089
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/P1rateW3nch/pseuds/P1rateW3nch
Summary: Sara and Jaal deal with a band of Roekaar when tragedy strikes.





	To Barter For The Moon

Sara huffed at Lexi, annoyed. “I’m fine. Honest. And Jaal wanted me to tag along to deal with this group of Roekaar.”

The asari just sighed, resigned. “You’re working toward being stuck on bed rest, Pathfinder.”

“It’s just a little fever, Lex. I’ll have Jaal with me, and Drack’ll be doing backup if we need him,” Sara whined.

“Go,” Lexi said, shaking her head, amused.

Sara jumped up and rushed out of the med bay.

She gathered Drack and Jaal and followed the latter to the angaran shuttle that would drop them off near the Roekaar camp.

“So, Jaal, what do you know about this group of roekaar?” she asked as they approached the drop point.

The angaran shrugged and looked back out the window of the shuttle. “I do not know. They broke away from the main group shortly after Akksul began speaking to the Initiative.”

“So, more devoted to their ‘cause’ than most. Great.” Drack said.

Sara glanced over at him. “Think that will be a problem?”

The krogan snorted. “The roekaar are die-hard for their cause. The ones who left? Are probably the most die-hard of the group.”

Jaal hummed agreement as they climbed out of the shuttle, the pilot leaving once they were clear.

“Okay. So, we probably won’t be able to talk them down?” Sara asked.

“Unlikely. They are more... xenophobic than most of the roekaar.” Jaal replied, sadly.

Drack snorted. “And since Jaal is showing up with us, and not more angarans, they’re gonna shoot first, and not bother with the questions.”

“Great. So, Jaal and I will go in the front, and-”

Drack waved her off. “I see a path. I’ll watch over you two, you go do your thing.”

The krogan stalked off, disappearing into the dense vegetation.

Sara and Jaal shared a look, then Jaal shrugged and led the way to the compound. Sara followed, fighting back a cough.

Drack was right about the shooting, and the pair were busy for a while as the roekaar charged them. She and Jaal moved in a rhythm, she covering him with her pistol or biotics as Jaal reloaded, Jaal covering her while she caught her breath. Drack took care of a few that had managed to sneak around behind them, and Sara gave a vague wave of thanks, swaying slightly. She hadn’t had to use her biotics that much in a while, and felt a little dizzy, with the leading edge of a vicious headache coming on.

“Weren’t you ever told to not wave at your sniper cover?” Drack groused over the comm.

“Oops. Sorry Drack,” she said as she followed Jaal into the main facility.

He snorted. “Do better next time.”

She grinned as the doors slid closed behind her and Jaal. Jaal looked around, interested.

“I have not seen anything like this before. I wonder what they are up to?” He walked closer, studying the structures and picking up a datapad.

“Come on, Jaal. Let’s clear this before we go poking around.”

Jaal glanced up, startled. “Right. Yes. Sorry.”

She grinned over her shoulder at him, then led the way down the nearest hallway. She was scanning the left side of the hall when she heard a noise. Glancing over, she saw an angaran rising from behind a pile of crates, rifle aimed at Jaal.

“Jaal!” Sara cried, using her biotics to charge at the sniper. She tripped over the door control as the sniper turned, and she felt the white-hot line of pain as the round skimmed over her shoulder. She heard the doors seal as the angaran got to his feet, face contorted with rage.

“Filthy alien,” he snarled, raising his rifle.

She tried to lift her pistol, but her arm didn’t want to cooperate. “I don’t suppose you’d be willing to talk about it?”

The angaran sneered. Sara could hear the report of the rifle and felt the floor rising to meet her.

She heard a pounding behind her, but that was just her heart, surely?

*  
Jaal watched, helpless, as the sniper shot through Sara’s shoulder. He rushed the door, slamming into it as he frantically called on Drack, the Tempest, Evfra, anyone who could get him in there. Several roekaar charged him, and he cut them down with a snarl.

His mate was in there, wounded, maybe-

He cut that line of thought off with a snarl. No. She was alive. She would return to him.

He didn’t notice when Drack arrived. He didn’t notice when the door opened. He just saw the barrier was gone and ran through the door, collapsing to his knees beside the stricken form of the Pathfinder. He gathered her into his arms, pressing his forehead to hers.

“Beloved, dearest, please,” he sobbed.

He could hear shouting behind him, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. He carefully wiped away the crimson line that was flowing from her nose and temple and carefully gathered her into his arms. 

He couldn’t say how long he held her, singing softly as he stroked her hair. He didn’t react at all until someone tried to take her from him. He fought, violently, viciously, until the prick of a syringe and darkness claimed him.

*

Jaal awoke to the sounds and smell of the Tempest’s med bay. He tried to remember what he’d done to get himself stuck in here again, then sat bolt upright.

“Ryder!”

Frantic now, he looked to the other bed. Empty. Someone tried to force him back down, but he shook them off.

“Where is Ryder?” he demanded.

Lexi sighed. “You’re hurt, Jaal. You need rest.”

“Where is Ryder?”

She huffed in annoyance. “In the med bay of the Hyperion. They’re better equipped than the Tempest.”

Jaal rose, grabbing the cot as the room spun around him. “How bad is it?”

“Shot through the shoulder, a round grazed her head, biotic overload, combined with the cold she had…” Lexi trailed off as Jaal swept out of the med bay.

She sent a quick message to Harry, warning him about the incoming distressed angaran, then went back to her scans. She didn’t think there was anything else wrong with Jaal, but she wanted to be certain.

Jaal rushed through the Nexus, ignoring the stares and whispers of the people he passed. They didn’t matter. Nothing mattered but getting to Sara. He was vaguely aware of some of the angaran visitors making a path for him, but he wouldn’t stop to thank them. He thought they would understand.

He paced the tram as it made its way to the Hyperion’s med bay. When he disembarked, he was met by Sara’s brother.

“Hey, Jaal. Wait a sec,” Scott said, grabbing his arm.

He pulled free. “I have to see her.”

“I know, but a bit of warning? She looks bad. And Harry had to shave part of her head,” Scott said, trotting along beside him. “So, she looks rough, but she’s tough. She’ll pull through.”

Jaal wasn’t convinced. There was something in Scott’s tone that worried him more.

He entered the med bay and froze. All he could focus on was her. Half her head was covered by clean white bandages, a stark contrast to her rich brown hair. Her eyes were closed, but he could barely see them behind the tubes and hoses. 

He approached her bed as if in a dream, barely aware of the medical staff moving around him. He sunk into a chair and held her hand.

“Dearest one. Come back to me,” he whispered. He turned his head to acknowledge Harry behind him, but he never took his eyes of Sara’s face.

“There’s some brain damage from the head wound. SAM says it isn’t too bad, but we’re going to keep her under for a few days.”

“Then I will remain here.”

*

Sara felt a weight across her chest as she clawed her way to the light.

“SAM, what?”

“Sara?” Jaal asked, and the weight lifted.

“Jaal has stayed by your bed while you were in a coma,” SAM told her, privately.

“Jaal? What happened?”

Jaal hugged her tight. “I thought I’d lost you. You were shot.”

She frowned. “Jaal? Why can’t I move?”

Jaal jerked in surprise, then slowly lowered her back down. “I do not know. They said nothing about…”

He trailed off and rose. After a final, lingering, study, he turned and left.

Sara tried asking SAM for help, but the AI couldn’t come up with an answer for her. Jaal returned, towing Harry and Scott behind him.

“Hey, Harry. What’s shaking? ‘Cause it’s not me.”

Harry pursed his lips as he scanned her with his omni-tool.

“Hmm. It appears as though…” he trailed off, then sent a message.

“It seems as though your connection to SAM, combined with the head injury, managed to damage your nerve function. Lexi should be here shortly, and we can see what we can do to fix it.”

“Alright. Hey, sis, how about a game?”

Sara glared at him. “If you suggest Twister, I’ll ask Jaal to shoot you.”

“Please keep the violence out of the medical areas,” Lexi asked as she walked in.

She approached Harry, and the two spent a few minutes discussing the various readings.

“At least I wasn’t a hassle after my coma,” Scott started.

Sara snorted. “Yeah, but I met the locals first.”

The two stuck their tongues out at each other as the doctors approached.

“So, it will be a fairly simple fix, but you're going to have to re-learn how to walk,” Lexi informed her.

Sara rolled her eyes. “Goody. Just what I always wanted.”

She smiled when Jaal stroked her cheek. “I will be here to catch you. Always.”

*

Sara glared at Lexi. “Sadist.”

The asari was unaffected. “Come on, Ryder. Five more steps.”

Straining with effort, sweat dripping from her brow, Sara forced herself forward the demanded five steps.

She let herself fall into the wheelchair, panting. “I think I’m getting worse.”

“Nonsense,” Jaal said, handing her a towel and water bottle. “You made twice the distance this time.”

She hummed and pulled him down to her eye level. “Hey, so, if this never gets better, you’ll stay, right? I mean-”

He cut her off with a kiss. “You are mine, as I am yours. I will only leave should you demand it.” he laughed softly. “And even then, I don’t plan on going that far.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first Mass Effect Andromeda fic! Yay! It's also my first hurt/comfort fic. It's mostly comfort. 
> 
> So, yeah. Tell me what you think! I like getting feedback. If you want to tell me something privately, my tumblr is p1ratew3nch.tumblr.com, and I keep anon on.
> 
> I love hearing from people!


End file.
